Out of the Woods
by imagination cavern
Summary: Most people forget that Richard Roman was a real person. Before the leviathans, before he became an arm in an ice chest. He did human things. He even had a kid. Maddie watched her dad being devoured, and that.. thing turn into him. So she ran. Living in the shadows, until she is arrested for trespassing in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Apparently the junkyard wasn't abandoned. Oops.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

August 8, 2011

Madeline Roman pretended she hadn't seen it. Her father had left his briefcase on the kitchen counter she went to the garage to give it him. Then she heard a growl from where her father would be.

She pushed her back against the wall and held out a compact to see what was happening. She almost screamed. Her father's arm was on the floor and he was being devoured by… whatever that was. Her father was gone, but the thing that ate him quickly morphed into him. "He forgot his briefcase." He said. 'Oh shit.' Maddie thought. In the time it took Dick Roman to walk 50 feet, Maddie had sprinted to the kitchen left his briefcase exactly where she found it, then bolted up the stairs to her room and locked the door.

She checked the security footage. Yep. She hadn't been hallucinating. She quickly copied the footage to a flash drive, then looped a 15 second interval on top of the footage of her bolting to her room so it looked like she had been watching cat videos while she was being traumatized. She reviewed the tape, nothing suspicious. She then started planning.

Escape Plan

1) Make an excuse

"going backpacking, will b gone b4 dinner." Her grammatically incorrect text had the perfect excuse to not be at home for a bit. Outdoors was the best place to disappear.

Maddie was excellent at survival (summer camp, Girl Scouts, frequent camping trips). And, unlike her father, she was not very "indoorsy", and loved the wilderness.

2) Pack up

This part wasn't that likely to be under suspicion, since she was going backpacking. Tent, sleeping bag, extra clothes, freeze-dried food, cooking pot, matches, water filter, camelback, flashlight, cordage, GPS, sunscreen, bug spray, extra batteries, and a Taser. All set.

3) Load up on cash

It's impossible to track cash, and Maddie needed to make purchases. So she took the money out of the jar under her bed. 16 years of allowances, birthday money, Christmas money, and her summer jobs she had held at Roman Enterprises. She was saving for college, but survival was more important. Almost $5000 was in that jar, and she put it in a plastic bag, so it couldn't get wet. Then she left.

4) Fake a kidnapping

"911, what's your emergency?"

"I'm camping, and I think there's someone out there."

"Your name?"

"Madeline Roman."

"Miss Roman, can you tell me your location?"

"No. I backpacked here."

"Just stay on the line, I'll trace your call."

"Please hur- AH!" Maddie started smashing her phone with a rock. When the phone was in fragments, she walked away.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

August 22, 2011

"Happy Birthday to you."

Madeline sang to herself as she trekked through Iowa. It was a big day, and she was the only one there to celebrate it. She was 16 now, and hadn't had human contact in almost a month. She bought a cupcake from a tiny bakery to celebrate.

"Happy Birthday to you."

She remembered some of her other birthdays. Her first 6 were with her Mom in Seattle. Sure they didn't have much money for presents, but they were happy.

For those 6 years, people often remarked how much she looked like her Mom (her name was Julia Young). Same angular face, same crooked smile, same eyes the color of the wilderness they both loved so much. But some things were different. Maddie had mousy brown hair instead of her Mom's honey blonde. Olive instead of tan skin.

"Happy Birthday dear Madeline."

Then her father found out she existed. For some reason, he wanted custody of her. Julia didn't have money for a lawyer, so Dick got full custody of Madeline. He changed her last name, moved her across the country, and tried to spoil her. Her own room, going to Girl Scouts, private school. She called him Dick until she was 12. Then father. She never called him Dad. He was just some asshole who took her away from her Mom.

"Happy Birthday to you."

She bit into the cupcake, and rang in a new year of being alive.


End file.
